Property Management Bookkeeping in Alaska

Money held for owners in Alaska is not your money, and Alaska sets its own rules — through state law and the Alaska Division of Corporations-registered licensing regime — on how those funds are held, how often they are reconciled, and what records must exist. We keep the trust ledger reconciled to the bank with owner-level detail behind every balance; whether that satisfies Alaska's specific requirement is a determination for you and your attorney, not us.

Security deposits in Alaska are a liability, not income. Alaska caps a residential deposit at 2 months' rent, and requires you to return or account for it within 14 days of move-out. That deadline is why the ledger has to be per-tenant rather than one pooled balance — a pooled figure cannot answer "what is owed to this tenant, and by when," which is the only question that matters when a deposit is disputed.

Registering to do business in Alaska runs through the Alaska Division of Corporations and employer accounts through the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Because Alaska has no sales tax account to maintain, there is one less registration to let lapse than in most states.

With no statewide general sales tax in Alaska, there is no rate to apply or reconcile — the liability account most businesses get wrong simply does not exist here.